SYOC: In the Wake of a Hero
by Cherry Punch
Summary: After Percy's disappearence Camp didn't just drop everything. Some sense of normalcy had to be sustained. Submit your character so we can all see just how camp fared in the wake of our favorite hero.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! So, after seeing these all over FanFiction I've decided to make my own! The basic jest of the story is what goes on at Camp Half-Blood following Percy's disappearance, mainly pre-HoO. But it isn't written in the classic Percy Jackson, completely PG sort of way. (It actually continues to bother me that Percy's attitude hasn't changed since he was twelve.) Anyway, what does that mean, exactly? It means I'm going to include romance drama, friendship drama, whatever sort of drama you can imagine high schoolers getting into. If you have a specific request about how far you want me to go with your character, let me know. Of course, it'll all be dependent on their age. I'm not going to have two eight year olds getting eloped or whatever. **

**These characters can also include friends or family of half-bloods. Feel free to create siblings or clear sighted friends of anyone you choose. **

**The story itself will include the original characters so keep that in mind. After all, since Percy had the Big Three forget their pact maybe they won't be as hesitant to claim their children… **

**Although I can guarantee they won't all be main characters, I'm excited and curious to see who you come up with!**

**(P.S. Please be as detailed as you can, otherwise I'll have to fill in the blanks myself and since I don't want to do too much of that it would really help if you do what you can!)**

Name-

Age-

Nickname-

Weapon-

Birthday-

Personality-

History-

Godly parent (If they have one) -

Mortal parent/family-

Hair color/style-

Eye color-

Height/weight-

fatal flaw-

Talents-

Likes-

Dislike-

Romance (Bi sexual and gay are also options here)-

Anything else-


	2. Chapter 2

_Dear Dirk,_

_If camp has taught me anything, it's that the Fates have a very strict plan. We all have our own paths and we're going to find them no matter what. It's kind of a depressing subject when you think about it. I'm still not sure if I like the concept or not. _

_It's interesting to see the campers here. We're under some pretty interesting circumstances this year. For a while it felt like everyone was falling apart. But we can't. He held the sky on his shoulders. I think Sydney said something smart earlier this summer. We lost a lot last year, but we're here this year. That's pretty impressive. _

_You know, I think it's funny. You can see what we go through, but until you've stabbed a hellhound in the neck with an amulet and a child of a myth at your side, how much do you really know? I could sit here and write all day about what my life is like but you wouldn't know anymore than you do now. And I could call you to explain, but how do you think that hellhound found me in the first place?_

_I guess what I'm trying to say is life will go on, even if you don't want it to. Sometimes things get hard and sometimes things go missing and sometimes...you lose them. Or you let go. But it's all part of something bigger. We can't live for ourselves. He doesn't. And I'll go to Tartarus before I let a son of Poseidon be a better person than me. What would Hecate say?_

_Just thought I'd let you think about that. _

_~Keshia Evans_

**(A/N) Hey guys! So, I just thought I'd give you a sneak peek. That means, no, the submissions are NOT over. I thought it would be nice to give you a little snippet. It's relatively vague, isn't it? **

**This part is based off of Keshia Selenay Evans, a lovely character submitted by Rosewolf Cahill. The story won't be completely around her but I figured she would fit in well with what I was trying to write in this part. **

**Speaking of characters, here's an update on what the cabins look like so far:**

**Apollo: Samuel Freebird- Submitted by Crane's shadow**

**Courtney Foster- Submitted by DuckInTheHat**

**Hermes: Willow Hamelin- Submitted by catz r the all time best**

**Jillian Bailey- Submitted by JadeDragon220**

**Athena: Jason Smith- Submitted by TCFS**

**Vyn Domer- Submitted by InvaderVyn (By the way, I recognized you from Black Hair Blue Eyes. When you commented on this it totally made my day.)**

**Vanessa Xiu- Submitted by movies789**

**Poseidon: Hali Marissa Tyler- Submitted by SilverWolf329**

**Halley Falls- Submitted by Percabeth42**

**Pauline Falls- Submitted by Percabeth42**

**Ares: Frank Allen Sanderson- Submitted by TankTheAuthor**

**Demeter: Silfer Mary Talon- Submitted by Hannibalrider**

**Tyche: Macey Woods- Submitted by Ivypool Luva **

**Hecate: Keshia Selenay Evans- Submitted by Rosewolf Cahill**

**So there you have it! I honestly loved reading all of these submissions. I've been sitting in my room forever thinking about how they all interact and who will hang out with whom. But, there seems to be a severe imbalance between male and females characters. Bottom line: it would be nice to see more men at camp! Oh, and for those of you who were wondering, Sydney is one of my characters. There are a few I've come up with, but I could replace most with yours if I had more guys! I also need more godly variety. How about Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Zeus and Hades? I'm sure they would appreciate it! So would I!**

**Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving, guys.**

**~ZTH**


	3. Submissions Over: Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO**

"I do believe human stupidity will be the death of us."

"Believe? I'm more than confident that they will be."

Dain smiled. Sydney was resting comfortably on his lap, her head on his shoulder. His arms were wrapped around her while his back was pressed on a tree. There was no romance in the embrace; he had come to accept there would never be. But that didn't mean they couldn't have these moments.

"Your faith in them has fallen, no?"

"No. I still have faith in the general population, but there are still a lot that I don't like."

"And that is enough to blame them for the end of all humanity?"

"It's enough for me."

Dain grinned once more. The moon was high in the sky, the waves gentle on the sand, the harpies too foolish to discover the daughter of Hermes and son of Erebus hidden in the trees. It was perfect.

"I know I brought up the conversation but your sudden animosity towards the mortals intrigues me. Do explain."

Sydney pursed her lips and looked down.

"You know why."

Dain grimaced slightly, anger taking over his usually light mood.

"I suppose I do. It is getting late. If we do not head back soon, you will never wake in the morning."

This almost got her to smile.

"Me? What about you?"

He laughed, almost earning another smile. Almost, not quite.

"Please, my love. Have you ever known me to be even the least bit tired?"

In truth, she never had. But she would be damned before she let him know that.

As they made their way back, neither one was aware of how drastically their world was changing. Sydney still suspected she would sneak into her cabin and see her siblings sleeping; Jill on the floor after having rolled off her bed, Connor and Travis sleeping weakly because the threat of getting a sharpie mustache was too great to allow anything more. Dain was looking forward to sleeping in his quiet cabin alone for the thousandth time.

Even beyond them, no one was the wiser. Vyn and Vanessa were sound asleep in the Athena cabin. Sam had passed out with the rest of their siblings promptly after returning from the camp fire. In the Nemesis cabin Darian was only half covered with blankets. Ashton was sneaking back into his cabin, the harpies thrown off by his deathly aura. Lexi was watching the lightning leap across her ceiling. Frank lay on his stomach, resting after a day of hard training with his siblings. Silfer dreamt of gardens and fruit. Keshia sat in the middle of her floor, playing with sparks she set off in the air.

In the Poseidon cabin, Camp Half Blood's top hero was leaving. Not on his own free will, though.

And no one was the wiser.

**(A/N) Hello! So, if your character's name was mentioned in this chapter, congratulations! While I'm fully aware this is not the most important thing that has ever happened to you, your character is a main character in this story! Yay! And, I meant to mention this last time, but it's awesome that a lot of the birthdays were from, like, July 5-July 11. Me and my little brother's birthday is July 8****th**** and my dad's is July 6****th****. All hail the July birthdays! **

**If your character wasn't mentioned, they're still in the story. This is just the prologue. **

**Just a side note: when I read these, I didn't really appreciate some certain caps yelling. Just saying what you need to is good enough. And the 'for gods sake' part wasn't really necessary either. **

**Anyway, hope you like this tiny, tiny chapter! One of many to come! **

**XOXO**

**~ZTH **


	4. Chapter 4

"What do mean gone?"

"I mean, no one can find him. He's just…vanished."

"That's not right. How does Percy just vanish?"

"No, how did no one in the Poseidon cabin hear anything?"

"Did they do it?"

"They kidnapped him? Not likely."

"No, but they could've killed him!"

"Percy was murdered?"

"Percy's dead?"

"Who's dead?"

"Someone important."

"Chiron's dead?"

"I heard Kronos killed him!"

"Kronos is back?"

"No, Luke's back! He's going to kill us all!"

It was mass hysteria at camp. Jill pushed her way through the crowd of pajama clad campers, hearing snippets of their conversations. The further she went forward, the more absurd the rumors got. She was about ready to snap when she heard ne that Blackjack ran off to replace Rudolph on Santa's sleigh, but the conch blew for silence. Everyone began to make their way to the dining pavilion where things would no doubt be explained. At least that's what Jill hoped, for the sake of her sanity.

When the mob made it to the pavilion, the claustrophobic nature of the situation was twenty times worse. She was trying to find her table, but was having trouble seeing five feet past anything. A hand reached out and grabbed the back of her Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, pulling her out of the assembly of people. She was pulled onto a marble table top where she thanked Travis for fishing her out.

"Well, I couldn't let my little sister get trampled, now could I?"

She stuck her tongue out at him. Soon after they grabbed Willow. By then the crowd was beginning to disperse, everyone finding their tables and murmuring with their siblings. Sydney was the last to show up, rushing to their table and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Took you long enough," Conner whispered to her.

"No one woke me up! If someone hadn't slammed into the cabin I wouldn't have gotten up at all," she hissed back, yawning.

"What idiot ran into our cabin," Jill questioned.

"Um, I think that Hades kid. Adam?"

"Ashton," Conner corrected. Sydney pointed at her brother while stifling a yawn.

"That's the one."

Jill looked around before finding the lone Hades camper.

_Did you run into our cabin? _She mouthed.

He shook his head and scrunched his eyebrows.

_Why are we here? _He mouthed back.

She shrugged. He pursed his lips and looked away.

Most of the Hermes campers were sitting on the table top. A few were forced to sit on the actual benches. Jill stretched out, putting her head on Travis' lap and her feet on Sydney's. Most her weight was on Conner but he didn't seem to mind.

Chiron stomped on the ground. The noise made everyone jump. Everyone's attention was averted to the centaur whose face was uncharacteristically grim. It would've made even the most obnoxious Hermes kid sober up.

"There have been many rumors floating around this morning. You are all here so those can be cleared up."

"Annabeth," Sydney whispered. Jill looked at her before finding the daughter of Athena. She had to sit up. What she saw didn't make any sense. Annabeth looked wrecked with worry and distress. Her hair was all amiss, her eyes panicked like a deer in headlights. It was absolutely absurd.

"Oh my gods…Percy really is gone."

Jill bit her lip and looked between her older siblings hoping one of them would say she was wrong. But none of them moved.

The idea of camp without Percy was frightening. He was their savior, the Hero of Olympus for Zeus' sake. He couldn't just be gone. No one else could teach her how to sword fight without screaming at her. Percy just laughed and tried again. He was so, so easy to be with. Camp wouldn't be the same without him.

"Now," Chiron continued, confirming Jill's fears. "It's true. Percy Jackson has disappeared. We presume he has left on his own or, he was kidnapped."

That possibility hadn't even occurred to her yet. The pause Chiron made before presenting the second option was the loudest thing she had heard all summer.

"What could've kidnapped him?"

"He's invincible! They couldn't have taken him without a fight!"

"What if he's already dead?"

"Don't say that!"

"He's dead, he's dead I can feel it!"

"He's not dead," Ashton shouted. Everyone turned to him, but it was obvious he really wasn't sure if Percy was dead or not. Wherever the hero was, he was out of Ashton's death range. Once again, the pavilion erupted in screams and voices loud enough to be heard on Olympus.

"HEY! EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Lexi's voice was as loud as the thunder she controlled. Immediately, it was all eyes on her. "Has it occurred to any of you that Percy is Poseidon's right hand man? For all we know he's in the ocean right now saving a pod of dolphins!"

"No, no he always tells me when he has to go like that. No matter what…" Annabeth trailed off. She sounded almost as bad as she looked.

"It could've been top secret," Lexi pushed. Annabeth shook her head.

The air over the campers was dark and puzzled. Jill exchanged a glance with Vyn who was biting her lip. The gears in her head couldn't work fast enough. It was hard seeing Annabeth so distraught. She was Vyn's sister for Athena's sake. That made Percy like family, too. The question that played in her head was running through everyone else's.

Where was Percy?

**(A/N) Ugh, short chapter, I know. And I'm sorry I didn't go through everyone's view points. Next chapter I promise on my life all the mains will be mentioned!**

**Thank you all so much for the reviews. I can't even tell you how much it means to me. I love that you loved it, or liked it, or read it. Seriously, it means a lot. Writing is like, one of the three things I'm good at so the fact you guys appreciate it makes me smile. **

**XOXO**

**~ZTH **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO**

The sword fighting arena was a mix of quiet and questions. The campers shuffled their feet and whispered to each other as if what they were saying was a secret. Camp Half-Blood was on one subject: Percy. Really, what secret could they have that no one else could hear? What theory were they passing to their friends that had been heard a million times?

Nessa sighed. It was unrealistic of any of them to think camp wouldn't be the same. They were only missing their sword fighting instructor. And their leader. And their messy haired goof. And Annabeth's boyfriend. She sighed again. Curse Percy for meaning so much.

She leaned by against the stands, Vyn at her side. Annabeth was nowhere to be seen, which could be expected, Nessa supposed. Annabeth had more to worry about than disarming an opponent in three moves anyway.

Chiron galloped into the arena with some Ares camper at his side. The guy was probably one of the biggest and most athletic people Nessa had ever seen. His hair was a tad on the shaggy side and as brown as his eyes.

How had she never noticed him before?

The more she looked over him, the more her mind began to see him as handsome. At that point she forced herself to look away. She bit her lip and hoped her blush wasn't too noticeable.

Nessa had been struggling with that aspect of her life. In other words, Aphrodite wasn't really a friend. One part of her was sure she was 'normal'. The other part made her wonder if she really wanted to fit normal.

"Attention! Because of our, er, situation with your sword fighting instructor Mr. Sanderson here has volunteered to take over your lessons until further notice. Is that understood?"

Nessa scrunched up her eyebrows. Chiron was talking to the Athena cabin. His questioned seemed like a waste of oxygen to her.

Chiron galloped off after assuring the group would be fine, leaving an Ares camper to teach the children of the goddess of battle strategy how to fight.

Nessa smiled. It was definitely going to be fun.

* * *

><p>Ashton and Lexi were looking at a marble bust of the Big Three. Realistically, it was of three of the Beatles. The forth one was lying shattered on the floor and had a slight resemblance to Zeus.<p>

"It's official. We suck at this," Lexi declared, earning a nod from Ashton. The two of them had recently synced their activities so they wouldn't have to be alone. The Zeus and Hades cabins had become a little lonely since their only known siblings were running all over the place as a Huntress of Artemis and roaming the Underworld as a son of Hades trying to find his past. Lexi and Ashton on the other hand had only become campers in the fall of the year before. They were pretty average. That was more than fine with them.

"When did we decide this was a good idea in the first place?"

Lexi shrugged.

"Alright, so what next?"

"Umm, I think we have archery? Or maybe Ancient Greek…Lunch?"

"Come on Lex, I depend on you to know these things," Ashton joked, shoving the daughter of Zeus playfully. She stuck her tongue out at him as they left the Arts and Crafts building. He stood half a foot taller, not that it mattered. They had been friends for over a year and it hadn't taken long for them to find out she could take him down in a second.

"Where are we going?"

"I thought you knew!"

"If I knew I wouldn't have to ask, would I Davenport?" Ashton questioned.

"Don't give me that attitude, Winters!" Lexi taunted.

"You wanna go?"

"Anytime, anyplace."

Lexi was on her tip toes, her finger pushing on his chest while he fought to hide his smile. Her lips quivered, trying hard not to laugh. Their resolve didn't last long though. They both began to crack up. After a few moments they both sat down hard, not able to stand anymore. Their sides hurt from laughing.

"You guys okay," a solemn voice asked half-heartedly. They looked up, still giggling, at an exhausted looking Hali Tyler, daughter of Poseidon. Instantly they sobered up. They got to their feet and stared at Hali.

"Yeah, we're fine," Ashton said. Lexi nodded beside him.

"Alright, I've got to go to archery… See you guys later."

"Later," they both said. Hali headed off in the direction of Archery while Lexi and Ashton looked at each other. They both felt bad. There they were, messing around like a bunch of idiots while everyone else was freaking out about Percy.

"Um, at least we know we don't have archery?"

Ashton nodded. The demi-gods made their way towards the Ancient Greek building where someone would be there to replace Annabeth, who was no doubt still stressed.

* * *

><p>At lunch, everyone was quiet. It was eerie and unwelcomed silence, but it was somewhat demanded. Sam was miserable. He chased an olive around with his fork, his head in his hand. Even the Hermes cabin was quiet, which was double depressing. They were usually the ones you needed to scream over to talk to someone next to you. But there was a huge elephant in the room, and it was sitting on all of their chests.<p>

He put his olive on the end of his fork. With his fingers on the prongs and his other hand holding the end, he looked around for Ashton. The son of Hades was eating by himself as usual. Sam launched the olive at his friend, aiming with accuracy only accomplished by a child of Apollo.

Ashton looked up, glaring at Sam.

_What the hell is wrong with you? _Ashton mouthed.

_Where's Lexi? _Sam mouthed back.

_Where do you think she is? _He pointed at the Zeus table where Lexi had her head down next to an empty plate of what used to a salad. Sam shook his head. He never understood why she was a vegetarian.

Lexi decided it was in her best interest to ignore the olive that hit the side of her head. Especially when Sam hissed her name. It really wasn't worth her energy to dip her toe in that pool of stupid. But a few olives later she lifted her head.

Sam waved and mouthed _You, Ashton, Silfer, Me. After lunch. Zeus Fist. _She nodded and put her head back down.

Sam nodded, too. He got Silfer's attention and told her the same thing.

Camp was falling apart at the seams.

Sam was trying to keep them together.

**(A/N) Changed my pen name! Yay!**

**I have awesome personal news, guys. I've been published! One of my poems has been printed in a collection of student pieces. If you want to check it out, it's called _Acclaimed_. There are some really talented writers in it from all over the country, and it's an honor to be in it.**

**Next chapter: Swear to the gods Keshia and Darian will make their appearance. After that, it's a free for all.**

**And, I'm sorry that Sam came off as a sort of idiot in this chapter. I just didn't want this to get to heavy sense it's kind of dark from here on out. **

**XOXO**

**~Cherry Punch**


	6. Note Sorry!

**(A/N) Hey guys, I can't update this week. I usually write my stories on the weekends, but I was between the hospital and home all weekend. My little brother had emergency surgery and had to get his appendix taken out because he had appendicitis. He's better now, he just came home. Next week there'll be a chapter unless he needs some other surgery, which won't happen. **

**And during winter break, if I don't get a laptop there's no way I can update after Christmas. I'm going back to New Mexico to help my grandmother who just got home after open heart surgery (Goodness what is wrong with us?). **

**Sorry again. **

**~Cherry Punch **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO**

"You guys okay?"

"Why wouldn't we be okay?"

"With Percy gone, it's a freaking apocalypse. Everyone's loosing it. I just wanted you make sure you weren't."

"Well, that's sweet, Sam, but we're fine."

Sam pursed his lips. He flipped his hair out of his eyes at the same time Ashton did, making the girls smile. Sam was perched on the top of the rock formation. Ashton sat on the grass while Silfer lay on the lower branch of a nearby oak. Lexi was relaxing on a flat span on rock near the bottom of Zeus' Fist. The sun was bright and warm. The breeze from the ocean balanced out the heat leaving them comfortable.

"Where do you think he is?"

"Well, it's Percy. I don't think anything bad would happen to him. Actually, I don't think anything bad _can_ happen to him," Silfer answered.

"Yeah, but when you bathe in the Styx you have a weak point. Remember Achilles? What if they found out Percy's?" Ashton inquired.

"Okay, not to be insensitive or anything, but why are we still talking about him?"

They all stared at Lexi.

"What?"

"I mean, yeah it's sad that he's gone and everything, but campers go missing all the time. They die sometimes. That's what happened before Ashton and I showed up, isn't it? A ton of campers were killed. And here we are," she said, motioning to the forest around her. "I guess I just don't see what makes him any different."

"Well, it's not that simple, Lex. Yeah, a lot of campers were killed last year but that doesn't mean no one was affected by it. I lost some siblings in that war. You don't think that changed my cabin?" Silfer challenged.

"No, I get that. But what I'm saying is what makes Percy any better?"

"I think it's because he's our leader, you know? Like, he led us into battle and he kicked some Titan butt. He's the only mortal to fight a Titan and survive, let alone win. That's what makes him so important," Sam said.

Lexi looked at the sun, ignoring the pain in her eyes. Was Percy even under the sun's light where he was? She felt stupid for even bringing up the subject. It did make sense for everyone to be worried. She just wasn't quite sure why.

"I'm sure he's fine. He's been dead before this," Ashton said, trying to reassure his friend. She looked at him and gave a small smile.

"You know, I think we'll be okay," Sam murmured.

"Camp?" Silfer asked.

"Well, maybe. But I mean us. Our group, you know?" He shrugged.

"Awww, Sammy's getting soft on us," Ashton teased.

"Shut up Dead Head."

"You have a problem, _Little Bird_?"

Sam launched himself off the rock. He narrowly missed crushing Lexi's head under his shoe in his haste to kill Ashton. The son of Hades jumped up and ran in whatever direction was necessary. Silfer rolled her eyes and shook her head. She shot Lexi a glance.

"Well there you go," she said. Lexi flicked her head back and laughed before jumping up and chasing after the boys. Soon enough Silfer was wrestling with them too.

The world was falling apart around them, and they couldn't give less of a damn at that moment.

* * *

><p>Keshia tore open the envelope, temporarily immune to the fact Darian was standing beside her. She unfolded the lined paper inside, nearly grinning at the messy handwriting only her boyfriend could use. Biting her lip she took in every word, every letter. Darian tried to decipher what it said, but he wasn't having any luck.<p>

_Dear Keshia,_

_I hope your summer's going good so far. I already miss you. Nothing interesting has happened to me so far, maybe you're having better luck. I don't have much else to say, other than that I hope you enjoy the gift!_

_Love,_

_Dirk_

"Present?" She murmured. She tipped the envelope upside down over her hand. A thin silver chain spilled out into her palm followed by a dark blue gem. It was framed in silver and in it she could see her shattered reflection off the many cut sides.

"Woah," Darian choked. The necklace was obviously expensive. He could see her face light up as soon and the chain fell into her hand.

"I know. Help me put it on," she requested, handing him the jewelry and pushing her dark brown locks over her shoulder. He strung it around her slender neck, clasping it carefully. After she readjusted her hair she turned at looked up at him for approval.

"I'm not sure. I think Nightwind'll get jealous. You probably shouldn't wear it," he teased. She rolled her eyes, fingering her amulet.

"Nightwind will be fine. Especially if you go down and practice with me now," she suggested slyly. He smiled at her. Keshia took off towards the sword fighting arena, leaving a now frowning Darian near the Big House.

Nightwind wasn't the only thing getting jealous.

**(A/N) Hello my lovelies.**

**Firstly, thank you all for the reviews for my brother. He's fine and as annoying as ever, which I guess is a good thing. But, from being in the hospital I got conjunctivitis in my eye and a minor skin infection in my cheek. It sucked, which is why this chapter took me so long to update. That and I had major writers block.**

**And good news for you, bad news for me, it seems I won't be heading back to New Mexico for Christmas. Good for you because I'll have nothing to do but write over the break (not that I mind that at all), bad news for me because I miss my family. And, frankly, New Hampshire and New Mexico are two totally different ball games. I actually don't think I've ever been away from the latter for this long. Weird.**

**Lastly, I have an idea for a story, not sure if it's going on this site or FictionPress, but I think it'll be good if I actually go through with it. If anyone's willing to, I would sure like someone to bounce my ideas off of to see if it's even worth writing.**

**Side note: Just so everyone knows, the SYOC is closed. I do appreciate it though!**

**XOXO**

**~Cherry Punch **


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